2020 Elections

Politico reports: Republican congressional candidate Darrell Issa and a conservative group are suing to block California’s move to an all-mail November election. They are legally challenging Gov. Gavin Newsom’s directive that elections officials mail every registered voter a ballot for the November election, making California the first state to switch to vote by mail due to coronavirus concerns. The conservative …

Politico reports: In the thick of primary season, Elizabeth Warren and Joe Biden brawled over Medicare for All: He called her approach “angry,” “elitist,” “condescending”; she shot back anyone who defends the health care status quo with industry talking points is “running in the wrong presidential primary.” Six months later, with Biden the presumptive nominee and Warren in the running …

ABC News reports: In the latest poll from Quinnipiac University, former Vice President leads President Trump in the race for the White House. The poll shows Biden with an 11-point advantage over Trump in a national head-to-head match-up. Fifty percent of those surveyed said they currently plan on voting for the former vice president, while 39 percent said they would …

The Washington Post reports: A new ad bluntly urging people to vote on behalf of fellow Americans who have died of the coronavirus offers a glimpse of how Democrats are gearing up to use the pandemic against President Trump heading into November. The spot, produced for a political action committee affiliated with Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-Calif.), closes with a montage …

Politico reports: The Trump campaign has an order from the president: Find a way to get him back on the road and into mega-rallies to re-energize his base. In recent meetings with top campaign officials and White House aides, Trump has questioned why he’s avoiding campaign events if it‘s safe for him to travel in his official capacity. Some White …

Forbes reports: A poll from Roanoke College in Virginia showed Biden leading Trump by 12 points in the state that Hillary Clinton won by just 5 points in 2016, solidifying the notion that the state is rapidly falling out of the swing state category. In Arizona, which Clinton lost by 4 points, Biden leads by 7 points according to a …

Albany’s ABC News affiliate reports: A federal appeals court has given a green light to New York state’s June 23 Democratic presidential primary. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday agreed with a lower court judge who ruled that the primary must include the contest over the state’s objections. Three appeals judges on Friday heard arguments but demonstrated …

Ben Winslow reports at Salt Lake City’s Fox affiliate: The Republican candidates seeking to lead one of the reddest states in the nation have all agreed to appear in a forum on LGBTQ issues. Equality Utah, a political advocacy organization for LGBTQ rights, will host the GOP candidates for governor in an online forum on Friday, FOX 13 confirmed. Thomas …

Politico reports: Interviews with nearly a dozen former governors, members of Congress, and other current and former party leaders revealed widespread apprehension about Trump’s standing six months out from the election. Many fret that Trump’s hopes are now hitched to the pandemic; others point to demographic changes in once-reliably red states and to the challenge of running against a hard-to-define …

FiveThirtyEight reports: In 2016 President Trump performed best among voters 65 years and older. He also won among those between the ages of 45 and 64. So looking ahead to November, you might expect Trump to once again do well with older voters. However, recent public polls — and the president’s own private polling — suggest that Trump may be …

Gay City News reports: Nearly a dozen national political groups — including LGBTQ, women’s rights, Latinx, and Jewish organizations — are uniting to send a clear message to residents of the 15th Congressional District in the South Bronx: Do not vote for anti-LGBTQ Bronx City Councilmember Ruben Diaz, Sr. Planned Parenthood Action Fund, the LGBTQ Victory Fund, NARAL Pro-Choice America, …

The Washington Post reports: Rep. Justin Amash, the Michigan congressman who left the Republican Party last year, said on Twitter that he will not run for president this year after saying last month that he would seek the Libertarian Party’s nomination. “After much reflection, I’ve concluded that circumstances don’t lend themselves to my success as a candidate for president this …

The Hill reports: Former Vice President Joe Biden holds a 6-point lead over President Trump in Florida, according to a Florida Atlantic University poll released Friday. The poll, which was conducted May 8-12 and reported a margin of error of 3.1 percentage points, showed Biden at 53 percent support while Trump got 47 percent. In a March poll from the …

NBC News reports: Former Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday that he would not pardon President Donald Trump if elected and insisted any prosecutorial decisions would be left to a more independent Justice Department. Answering questions in a virtual town hall-style event on MSNBC Thursday, the Democratic presidential hopeful was asked by a voter about whether he’d follow the lead …

From the guy who says windmills cause cancer: President Trump’s reelection campaign launched a series of Facebook ads Thursday questioning Joe Biden’s age and fitness for office, expanding on a personal attack line that Republicans have only floated thus far. The ads asked if the former vice president, 77, is “too old” to be elected president and saying, “geriatric mental …

Courthouse News reports: Generation Z is the most racially and ethnically diverse generation the United States has ever seen, with decidedly progressive political leanings, the Pew Research Center reported Thursday. The oldest Gen Zers turn 23 this year, and 24 million of them will be eligible to vote in the November 2020 presidential election, comprising 1 in 10 eligible voters. …

Politico reports: The administration sent a report outlining its transition activities to two congressional committees on Wednesday night, announcing it has created a transition planning group — the White House Transition Coordinating Council, which will advise executive departments and agencies on preparation for a potential transition — and detailing other aspects of a handoff between administrations. The administration has also …

Politico reports: Senate Republicans have a problem in Kansas. And they still think Mike Pompeo is the solution. Staring at a messy primary, a credible Democratic challenger and a real battle for Senate control, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is pushing for the secretary of State to jump into the race with just weeks to go until the filing deadline. …

The Washington Post reports: Mike Garcia, a businessman and former Navy pilot, defeated state Assemblywoman Christy Smith, who conceded the election Wednesday. Although mail-in ballots remained uncounted, Garcia had a comfortable 12-point lead over Smith in the 25th District, north of Los Angeles. Garcia will finish the term of Katie Hill, the Democratic congresswoman who resigned last year amid allegations …

Reuters reports: More Americans have grown critical of President Donald Trump over the past month as the death toll mounts from the coronavirus pandemic and he now trails Democratic challenger Joe Biden by 8 percentage points among registered voters, according to a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll released on today. The poll conducted on Monday and Tuesday showed that 41% of U.S. …